Article and photos by Malcolm Pullman, Sandy Bay Kiwi.
Forget AI and other expensive, energy hungry systems, at Sandy Bay we’re excited about an old fashioned message board in the mud.
Almost without doubt some of these footprints were made by kiwi, quite possibly two different birds, one adult the other juvenile.
Northland Regional Council Biosecurity Officer and long time kiwi handler Pete Graham was initially unsure of the identification because the rear facing toe of kiwi normally points a little inward and the toenails often appear a bit wider.
But when told of multiple male and female kiwi calls heard in the valley where this small wetland restoration project is underway, and a positive sighting nearby just a few days earlier, Pete was more confident they were made by kiwi. Also the mud where the footprints were photographed was fairly sloppy and the prints had collapsed inward a little before the photo was taken.
Other candidates evaluated were Banded Rail and Spotless Crake, both of which have very similar outlines to kiwi footprints but are considerably smaller. The 55mm long throat lozenge seen placed in the corner of the image for scale assisted with this conclusion.
Pukeko were ruled out because of their much larger size and pheasants were considered but deemed unlikely.
What Pete did confirm was that the wetland was doing its job, providing good habitat while collecting the silt which would otherwise have made its way onto the beach and ultimately into the ocean at Sandy Bay.
